1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a static eliminator used for eliminating static electricity of a workpiece, and a discharge electrode unit built therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
For the purpose of eliminating static electricity of a workpiece, a corona discharge type static eliminator has often been used. Typically, in a static eliminator having a long bar shape, a plurality of discharge electrodes are mounted in a longitudinally spaced condition, and a high voltage is applied to these discharge electrodes to generate an electric field between the discharge electrodes and the workpiece and thereby to apply ions to the workpiece so that static electricity of the workpiece is eliminated.
A static eliminator disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-260821 will be described below. A gas main channel is provided along the longitudinal direction of a static eliminator, and a purified gas (clean gas) flowing in this gas main channel is distributed to the periphery of each discharge electrode. A gas pool extending along the longitudinal direction of the discharge electrode is mounted around each discharge electrode. The clean gas is supplied from the gas main channel to this gas pool through an orifice provided between the gas pool and the gas main channel. The clean gas flowing into the gas pool is allowed to flow to the outside through a plurality of assist air outflow holes formed around the leading end of the discharge electrode, and a gas flow along the shaft line of the discharge electrode is generated.